Purchasing frilly bedroom-wear is a riddle of Rumsfeldian proportions.

It is replete with so many known unknowns ("The hell's a merriwidow?") that a man can be forgiven for giving up and simply spending some quality alone time with youboobs dot com (oddly, not an actual site).

But there are a few simple things every man can do to ease his (and her) pain.

One, know her style. Never seen her in lace? Don't buy her lace.

Two, know her size. Look in her undies drawer.

Three, know for which occasion(s) you're buying. Everyday wear should be cotton. And probably not red.

The rest is intuition. And this guide, which reveals not only which indie and mainstream labels you should be buying, but also where those labels fall on the spectrum of come-hither-ness.